Sudan · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Sudan Foreign Minister Mehdi Eddine Salem Rejects External Solutions, Opens Dialogue With United States
Sudan opens dialogue with United States and regional/international partners to end the war. Rejects any external solutions or imposed interventions in Sudan's peace process.
How to prioritise US pressure versus parallel tracks.
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Dabanga Radio TV Online
“Washington was calling on the warring parties to accept a humanitarian truce without preconditions”Read the original ↗
Sudan Horizon
“The Chairperson of the African Union Commission stressed that the humanitarian, security and political tracks should move forward in parallel”Read the original ↗
Dabanga emphasises US legitimacy and pressure, while Sudan Horizon emphasises parallel humanitarian, security and Sudanese dialogue tracks.
Khartoum opens talks
Sudanese Foreign Minister Mehdi Eddine Salem told a press conference in New York that Khartoum is open to a positive negotiating track with the United States and a number of regional and international states to end the war, while rejecting any intervention or external solutions being imposed. Salem said the Sudanese government rejects “equality between the army and the Rapid Support Forces,” and he framed Khartoum’s stance around adherence to national sovereignty and the unity of Sudan’s territory. Salem also said Sudan renews its readiness to positively engage with Washington alongside Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Pakistan, China, and Turkey, and he added that Khartoum reserves concern about the fourth leg of the Quadripartite Group, the United Arab Emirates.
Salem accused the Rapid Support Forces of refusing to comply with what they signed in Jeddah, one month after the start of the war. The Foreign Ministry said Salem held consultations with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday, stressing the importance of engaging in dialogue as a path to settling the conflict and achieving peace in Sudan.
US visa and legitimacy
The United States refused to grant Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan a visa ahead of his planned appearance before the United Nations General Assembly, and the dispute was linked to a ceasefire proposal supported by the United States and opposed by Khartoum.
A Sudanese diplomat said, "We in the Sudanese government deeply regret this, as it violates the UN Charter and international law," while the U.S. State Department spokesperson Tom P. Pygot said the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, and their leadership, "do not constitute a legitimate and constitutional government of Sudan."
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry rejected the U.S. position and said it “strongly rejects” the latest position of the U.S. State Department, affirming that any peace initiative must be based on respecting the legitimate national institutions in Sudan.
The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also warned that any peace initiative intended to succeed and be sustainable must emanate from respecting Sudan’s sovereignty, its unity, the integrity of its territory, and its legitimate national institutions.
The U.S. State Department’s pressure was tied to a visa dispute that reportedly centered on US pressure for al-Burhan to accept a proposed 90-day ceasefire, which the reports said he refused.
AU pushes ceasefire tracks
The African Union called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and a cessation of hostilities in Sudan, paving the way for a permanent ceasefire, as the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Mahamat chaired a joint meeting of the Quad and Quint groups in New York. Mahamat stressed the danger of continuing war and its growing spillover effects on neighboring countries hosting millions of Sudanese refugees, and he urged humanitarian, security, and political tracks to move in parallel. The meeting identified follow-up areas including boosting coordination between the political and security tracks, taking measures to curb violence and protect civilians, and preparing monitoring and verification mechanisms for the implementation of any agreement reached.
The AU Commission chair said the meeting should move from mere convergence of positions to practical, operational coordination, and he identified three main priorities: an humanitarian ceasefire, a stop to hostilities, and a comprehensive dialogue owned by the Sudanese. A Sudanese Foreign Ministry statement rejected any path that would legitimize a reality created by the Rapid Support Forces, and it said “No political or negotiating process should be used to legitimize the reality created by the RSF” or to reward the rebellion for crimes against civilians, the state, and legitimate institutions.